Eleanor of Provence

Eleanor of Provence (1223-25 June 1291) was Queen consort of England from 1236 to 1272 with King Henry III of England.

Biography
Eleanor was born in 1223, the daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV of Provence and Beatrice of Savoy, who was the daughter of Thomas I of Savoy. A scion of the House of Barcelona, she developed a strong love of reading. Her elder sister Margaret of Provence married Louis IX of France, and she married Henry III of England, another important European king. Their children were Edward I of England, Margaret of England, Beatrice of England, Edmund Crouchback, and Katherine of England, and she was especially devoted to her eldest son, King Edward. Her influence with the king led to him giving Edward control of Gascony, and the nobles despised her due to her role in governing England. On 13 July 1263, her barge on the Thames River was pelted with objects by supporters of the Barons' Alliance, and Mayor Thomas Fitzthomas saved her. She died in Amesbury in 1291 while her son was king.